Take to the Streets
by MelodySong13
Summary: An AU of With No Doubt in Our Hearts. Lucie and the rest of Les Amis are in college. Enjolras is a year ahead of Lucie and the president of the politics club. Some deaths will change others will not
1. Chapter 1

**Take to the Streets (an AU of With No Doubt in Our Hearts)**

 **Chapter 1:**

Lucie and Marius Pontmercy were thrilled when they found out they had both been accepted to the same university, both with full scholarships. Marius decided to study law, while Lucie decided to study to become a history teacher. Their grandfather thought that teaching was a waste of Lucie's potential, but she didn't care; she felt it was extremely important that students be taught American history as it happened, not painting their country as perfect. America was far from perfect and in the country's history, had gone through some dark times that the government seems to want the people to forget (Indian removal, Vietnam War, slavery even). She always tried to explain this to their grandfather, but he didn't understand, seeing as he had friends within the government.

Marius and Lucie became very good friends with his roommate, Courfeyrac. Lucie's housing assignment, however, was almost problematic. She walked into her room on move in day wearing boys' sweatpants with her wavy brown hair pulled up in an embarrassingly messy bun and carrying a huge box of various decorations and posters that covered almost the entire top half of her body.

"Here let me help you with that," she heard a male voice say as the box was lifted out of her hands and onto the bed.

The student facing her looked really confused when he turned around and saw a five foot tall girl in his dorm room. They both just looked at each other for a few minutes. Finally Lucie spoke to the nearly six foot tall student standing in front of her, "So…do you think one of us is in the wrong room?"

"What room number did it say in your packet?" the young man asked in return.

"240," she said, "Yours?"

"240," he replied.

"Well then," Lucie said with a smile, "I guess we're roommates!"

"I guess so," he grinned.

"I'm Lucie," she said extending her hand.

"Combeferre," he replied shaking her extended hand.

"What's your major, Combeferre?" Lucie asked.

"Pre-med, I think I want to be a pediatrician. What's yours?"

"Secondary Education with a history content major," Lucie said, "History is my favorite subject; I am such a history nerd."

"I'm a history nerd too!" he almost shouted.

"Then you will love the poster I bought for the dorm!" she said excitedly as she unrolled a life-sized poster of Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton.

"I love it!"

"Combeferre, I think this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship."

After they were done unpacking, Combeferre and Lucie walked to the dining hall to meet Marius and Courfeyrac for dinner.

"Marius!" Lucie shouted across the room as she waved at her brother.

"Hey, Lu," He said when they got over to the table where he and Courfeyrac had been sitting, "This is my roommate, Courfeyrac. Courfeyrac, this is my sister, Lucie."

"Just call me Courf," Courfeyrac said shaking Lucie's hand.

"Nice to meet ya, Courf!" Lucie said, "Marius, Courf, this is my roommate, Combeferre."

"Wait," Marius said, "You're roommates?"

"Oh, it's no big deal, Marius," Lucie said rolling her eyes.

"If you say so," Marius said, "Nice to meet you, Combeferre."

Combeferre smiled and shook Marius's hand, "Likewise, Marius, and don't fear; your sister is in no danger with me as her roommate, we don't exactly play for the same team…if you know what I mean."

"Point taken," Marius said.

Courf's smiled when he heard that, but he was careful not to make it too obvious.

While they were eating, a sophomore wearing a flower in his red hair walked up to their table, "Hi, everyone!" he said, "I'm Jehan. I'm a sophomore. I'm studying to be an English teacher. How did moving in go?"

"Pretty good," Marius said. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"Great!" Jehan said, "Oh, 'Ferre! I didn't see you there, how's it going?"

"All is well, my friend," Combeferre said in response.

"You're a sophomore?" Lucie asked Combeferre.

"That, I am! Sorry, I must have forgotten to mention that," Combeferre said.

Marius, Courfeyrac, and Lucie all introduced themselves to Jehan.

"So, how's the poetry going, Jehan?" Combeferre asked.

"I don't want to talk about it," Jehan frowned, "I have a horrible case of writer's block, and my brain and I are not speaking at the moment."

"You'll get passed it," Combeferre laughed, "You always do."

"You write poetry?" Lucie asked.

"Yep," Jehan responded, "It's not that good though."

"Jehan, you know that's not true! You're poetry is wonderful," Combeferre said.

"Well, Ferre, that makes one person who thinks so," Jehan sighed, "So what clubs are you all thinking about joining."

"Politics club," they all said simultaneously.

"Wow!" Jehan exclaimed, "Enjolras will be so excited to have more people there, right Ferre?"

"Yeah, we don't have that many members," Combeferre said, "but that may or may not have something to do with Enjolras's speeches…well rants really."

"Well with everything horrible going on in the world, who can blame him for ranting?" Lucie interjected.

Combeferre smiled at Jehan, who nodded in response, "Lucie," Combeferre said, "I think you are going to make an excellent addition to the club."

"What's everyone else's major?" Jehan asked, "I know Ferre is pre-med, may God have mercy in his soul."

Combeferre laughed and cleaned off his glasses.

"I'm studying law," Marius said.

"Undecided," Courf sighed.

"I'm studying to be a history teacher," Lucie said.

"Yay!" Jehan exclaimed, "A fellow education major is among us!" he paused and then asked Combeferre, "Do you know where Grantaire is? I haven't seen him all day."

Combeferre rolled his eyes at Jehan, "It's move-in day. There's bound to be a party somewhere on campus. Find the alcohol and you find Grantaire."

"True, true. I guess it's my turn to locate him then. I'll see you all at Politics Club tomorrow?"

"Absolutely!" Lucie said.

After Jehan had left, Marius asked Combeferre, "So how many people are in the club?"

Combeferre thought a moment, "I think there are about eight of us, myself and Jehan included. There are nine if Joly and Bossuet bring their girlfriend, Musichetta."

"Their girlfriend? Not girlfriends?" Marius asked

"Nope the three of them are all dating one another," Combeferre explained.

"Only nine people?" Lucie asked.

"Well, there will be three more tomorrow!" Combeferre said optimistically.

"Do you ever protest or anything?" Courfeyrac asked.

"We haven't in the past," Combeferre said, "But we will if it is necessary."

"Peacefully, I assume?" Lucie said.

"It would depend on the situation, but more than likely, yes we would protest peacefully," Combeferre responded.

The four talked for another hour before going back to their rooms for the night.

When they got back to their room, Lucie stood at the side of her bed and frowned. The bed came up to about midway up her ribcage.

"What's wrong, Lucie?" Combeferre asked.

"Nothing," she said, "just remind me to get a step stool tomorrow."

Combeferre laughed, loudly.

Lucie crossed her arms and said, "Don't you laugh at me! You're six feet tall! You will never know the struggles of being short!" She tried to anyway. She began hysterically laughing about half way through her scolding.

A few minutes later Combeferre told her, "Lucie, just so you know, Enjolras can be a little…if-y when it comes to new members…especially girls."

"Why especially girls?"

"He's seen too many girls join up for the purpose of meeting guys."

"Thanks for the warning, Ferre. By the way, I think someone has a crush on you."

"Who? Jehan? Because he doesn't."

"Nope, Courf."

"Courf? You think so?" he asked, blushing.

Lucie noticed his blushing, "Does someone have a crush on Courfeyrac as well?" 

"No—I mean he's cute—I mean I don't even really know him—um," Combeferre stammered.

"Wow," Lucie shook her head, "Intelligent to stuttering mess in three seconds flat."

"Oh, shut up."

"Is there anything else I should know before the meeting tomorrow?"

"Just that you and Musichetta will probably be the only females in the room, and that Enjolras _will_ say something about it."

"I guess I'll have to make him regret it then," Lucie snickered.

"Easier said than done, Lucie," Combeferre warned.

"We shall see," Lucie responded almost evilly, "we shall see."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

"Combeferre," Lucie asked, "Does this outfit look slutty to you? I want your 100% honest opinion."

Combeferre looked over at Lucie who was wearing red denim shorts that were rolled up so they'd just cover her butt, with a black tank top with "Here, Sir, the People Govern. –Alexander Hamilton" written on it. He thought for a minute, "Yeah, a little, why?"

"Perfect," she grinned.

Combeferre didn't trust the grin. It looked evil. "Perfect?" he asked, "Why is it perfect? Does this have something to do with what I told you about Enjolras?"

"It might," she replied, "Would he think it's slutty?"

"Probably, what's the plan?"

"I'm going to make him think I'm in it to find a guy, and then destroy him with my knowledge of politics, thus making him regret this sexist mindset."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"I don't know, do you?"

"It actually might…what if it doesn't? By the way, red is his favorite color."

"OH, even better! And I have a plan B of course. I'll bring up something in the political world that I dislike and rant about it for a while, proving that I care and I'm as capable of ranting as he is."

Combeferre shook his head, "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Nope, I refuse to be treated like some ditz just because I'm a female."

"He'll like that."

"Was that sarcasm?"

"No, it wasn't, Enj can't stand any kind of inequality. The only problem he has is when girls are OK with sexism."

"Then he shouldn't have any problem with this girl."

Lucie did her hair and make-up and looked in the mirror one final time before she and Ferre left for the meeting. When they arrived, there was another girl in the room (who looked like Jenna Coleman in her portrayal of Oswin Oswald in _Doctor Who_ ). Lucie walked over and said hello.

"Hi," she said, "I'm Lucie."

"I'm Musichetta," the other girl replied, "These are my boyfriends, Joly and Bossuet."

Joly and Bossuet waved as Musichetta said each of their names, and Lucie waved back.

"It's nice to have another girl in here," Musichetta said, "Love the tank top, by the way."

"Thanks! It's one of my favorites. I love the fact that it's a Hamilton quote and it's also me protesting the fact old men think that anyone but me has the right to decide what happens to my body."

Musichetta laughed, "I hear you, sister!"

Lucie sat in the desk next to Musichetta and the two continued talking as the rest of the members showed up one by one. Surprisingly, Enjolras was the last to show up (besides Grantaire who walked in shortly after). Lucie looked over at Combeferre, confused.

She mouthed, silently, _Is that him?_

Combeferre nodded in response.

Confused would be an understatement. When Combeferre told Lucie about Enjolras she wasn't expecting someone attractive to enter the room. Of course, she would still go through with the plan, but it did catch her slightly off-guard.

"Alright," Enjolras said, "For our new members, my name is Enjolras. I'm the president. I've made a sign in sheet so if you'll all—what is it Grantaire?"

Grantaire's hand was in the air, "Oh, fearless leader, there is a new female in the room."

"I'm aware, Grantaire," Enjolras sighed at the clearly hungover student sitting before him, "Why did that warrant an interruption?"

"Well, I'm used to Chetta, but what should I do now?" Grantaire said.

"I don't know, Taire," Enjolras groaned, "I suppose you could try to refrain from your usual brand of humor."

"Um," Lucie interrupted, "Just do what you always do. Don't change a damn thing for me just because I'm a girl."

Enjolras stared at Lucie for a little longer than he should have before clearing his throat, "OK then, as I was saying just come on up and sign in." He hoped she didn't notice and she didn't.

Lucie walked to the front of the room to sign in. She noticed as she turned to go back to her seat that Enjolras looked almost disappointed. Enjolras then instructed the group to go around and introduce themselves for any new members.

One scary-looking student volunteered to go first, "Hey y'all, my name is Bahorel! I'm from Texas and I'm gay as hell. As you can imagine that's why I'm here. Back home they're less tolerant. Oh, and I'm a law student."

The kid sitting next to him stood up next, "I'm Bahorel's roommate, Feuilly, I'm from LA, and I'm an art major," Bahorel cleared his throat and Feuilly rolled his eyes, "we're not just roommates we're also dating."

Jehan introduced himself next, followed by Combeferre and Courfeyrac.

Joly stood up, "Hey, I'm Joly, I'm pre-med and I'm from Maryland."

Musichetta was next, "Hello, I'm Musichetta, y'all can call me Chetta. I'm majoring in dance and I'm from New Orleans, Louisiana."

"I'm Bossuet or Lesgle, whatever you prefer. I'm studying law. Any art majors should probably keep their projects away from me. Oh and I'm from Maryland too."

Marius and Lucie introduced themselves next, mentioning that they were from New York, but not that they were related.

"Hi, everyone, as I said, my name is Enjolras. I'm from New York. My major is history with a minor in political science. I'm thinking of adding education as well, but I haven't decided yet. That just leaves you, Grantaire."

"What? Oh, I'm Grantaire. My major is art so I paint most of our posters and signs. I'm from Florida. Yeah I know, Florida has a pretty bad reputation, but it's not as bad in the area I'm from. Sorry I'm a bit out of sorts, last night was crazy."

"Alrighty," Enjolras said, "Let's get down to business. Election season is almost upon us and I don't know about you guys but some of the Republicans are worrying me."

"I hear you!" Combeferre shouted from the back, "Some of these guys are horrible."

"Yeah," Bahorel agreed, "I would like to personally apologize for the senator from Texas on behalf of my entire state."

"I for one am not going to let one of them tell me what to do with my body!" Musichetta exclaimed, "Right, Lucie?"

"That's right! No old man is going to lecture me about the legitimacy of rape!" Lucie said taking Chetta's hand.

"You tell 'em, Lu!" Marius said.

Enjolras told everyone to calm down for a minute, while he looked through his notes. Finally he said, "OK, I think this meeting is over, I hope to see you all next week, well everyone that was here for the right reasons anyway."

Before Lucie could ask, Combeferre spoke up, "What's that supposed to mean, Enj?"

"Well, Ferre, I just hope no one has ulterior motives."

"What kind of ulterior motives?" Ferre asked.

"Ya know," Enj replied, "finding a rich law student boyfriend," he said looking over at Lucie.

"Excuse me?" Lucie said, "Why did you look at me when you said that?"

"Well, no offense, but you're kind of dressed for it," Enjolras responded.

"I'll have you know that this shirt is a comment on how rich old men think they can tell me what to do with my body, and also pays respect to my favorite founding father, Alexander Hamilton."

"You're saying that nowhere in your plans was finding a lawyer boyfriend?" Enjolras asked in disbelief, "Because I've seen that too many times in my time here. I bet that feminism is the only thing you know about politics."

"OK. First of all I've counted three law students in this room: Bossuet, who is in a relationship, Bahorel, who is self-described as being 'gay as hell' and also in a relationship, and one more. That leaves Marius Pontmercy, who happens to be my twin brother. Second, Marius, do you recall our AP Government and Politics class last year?"

"Yes I do," Marius replied.

"Who won the most debates in that class, including one with you?"

"You did…"

"I see. I also received a 5/5 on my AP test and was the only one in my class to accomplish said score. Throw me an amendment and I'll give you a Supreme Court case to match it."

"Six," Enjolras said smugly.

"Gideon versus Wainwright," Lucie said without missing a beat.

"Fine what's the most important Supreme Court case?" Enj asked.

"Well, that's a bit complicated," Lucie replied, "Most scholars would say Madison versus Marbury because it established judicial review, but in my opinion that is not the most important. Actually I think it's Gideon versus Wainwright or Brown versus the Board of Education. Gideon v Wainwright because it pretty much gave the right to an attorney to the poorer class, and Brown v BOE because it gave the right to a good education to those who previously couldn't attain it. Being an education major, I believe that everyone is entitled to a decent education."

Enjolras was speechless, everyone was. Lucie's plan was a success.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Enjolras stood at the front of the classroom with his mouth hanging open, staring at Lucie who was sitting at her desk with her arms crossed, grinning smugly (having just high fived Musichetta).

"Hey, Enj" Grantaire shouted, "might wanna close your mouth before you start letting in flies!" He then looked over to Lucie, "Way to go, Lucie, you're the first person to silence our fearless leader in history."

"I do my best," Lucie grinned as she stood up and took a bow.

Combeferre stood up and announced, "If anyone has a class at 1:00, you should probably leave now."

Marius, Bahorel, and Bossuet all stood up to leave at the same time.

"Contract interpretation?" Bahorel asked.

Marius and Bossuet both nodded in response.

"Alright let's go," Bahorel said more excitedly.

"Shit!" Grantaire said louder than he wanted to, "What time is it Ferre?"

"12:45, why?" Combeferre responded.

"My drawing class started 15 minutes ago that's why," Grantaire sighed, "I gotta go, see you guys at the next meeting."

"Joly, we have to go, too," Combeferre said placing a hand on his shoulder, "anatomy."

"Thanks, Ferre," Joly said jumping out of his seat and almost tripping over the leg of the desk, "almost forgot."

"See you back in the dorm, Lucie," Ferre called over his shoulder as they left.

"I'm out, too, Enj," Jehan said, "Poetry class! Sounds fun, hope I won't need to write any though."

"What do you mean, Jehan?" Enjolras asked, "You're great at writing poetry."

"So everyone else says," Jehan responded, "try telling that to my brain, it seems to disagree."

"I have to go practice," Musichetta said as she got up, "Maybe we can get dinner later, Lu?"

"Sure, that would be great," Lucie smiled.

Feuilly was the next to stand up, "Well, I have to go work on a project. I know right? First day of the semester and I'm assigned an art project due Friday," he was still muttering to himself as he walked out of the classroom.

Courfeyrac practically ran out of the room after checking his schedule. He barely even had time to say, "Math class; gotta go!"

That left Lucie and Enjolras alone in the classroom.

"Do you know if there's a class in here before 2?" Lucie asked.

"I don't think so," Enjolras replied, "I was going to just stay here and read."

"Really?" Lucie asked, "Me too."

Lucie and Enjolras both went into their backpacks and pulled out the book they were reading. As it turns out, they were reading the same book, _A Lion in the Whitehouse_ , a biography of Teddy Roosevelt.

Lucie looked at Enjolras (who hadn't yet noticed they were reading the same book) for a minute before saying, "Oh yeah, I forgot that you're a history major."

Enjolras looked up from his book, confused, "You like Teddy Roosevelt, too?"

"Of course I do," she said, "He was the last good Republican president."

"What about Regan?" Enjolras asked laughing and raising an eyebrow.

"He was alright until he was too senile to do his job. I honestly don't understand the hype about him," Lucie said.

Enjolras smiled, "Yeah," he agreed, "neither do I."

Lucie looked back down at her book and continued reading. Enjolras did the same. An hour of silence later, there were students filing into the classroom.

Lucie looked over at Enj, who shrugged his shoulders in response. The two of them collected their things and left the classroom.

After a few minutes of them walking in silence, Lucie began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Enjolras asked.

"Can you imagine how confused they were when they got to their classroom and saw you sitting at the professor's desk and me sitting in the front row, both reading the same book?" she managed to get out through her hysterical laughter.

Enjolras started to laugh too, "It must have been priceless. They were probably so confused. They were all thinking 'Only one person signed up for this class? What kind of class is this? Why Teddy Roosevelt?' and we just made it worse by not explaining ourselves before leaving!"

Lucie could barely breathe, "Oh my god! 'Why aren't they talking? Why aren't they discussing the book? Do they just sit here in silence? Why is the professor so young?' they must have had so many questions."

After the two of them had caught their breath, Enjolras broke the silence, "Lucie, I'm sorry for my behavior during the meeting. It was wrong of me to assume that you weren't there for the right reasons. It was sexist and arrogant of me, and I apologize."

"It's alright," she responded. After pausing for a moment she said, "I have to get to class."

"What class?" Enjolras asked.

"Art history," Lucie replied.

"Me too," Enjolras said, "I'll walk with you—that is—if you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Lucie said, smiling.

They got to class on time, and it turns out it was the most boring class either of them had ever taken.

After class, Lucie asked Enjolras, "Was it just me, or was that horribly boring?"

"It wasn't you," Enjolras said, "That was terrible."

"This is not art _history_ , this is analyzing art in chronological order," she said distraught, "I thought this was going to be art throughout history, you know like learning about the artists and stuff, almost like in world history in high school. I learned the Renaissance's history and all the important people and then we looked at their paintings and talked about them without analyzing them."

"I know what you mean, but I need this class, and being a history content major, so do you," Enjolras groaned.

"It's only one semester, how bad can it be?" Lucie said, trying to remain optimistic.

"We should probably exchange cellphone numbers, just in case one of us needs to miss class," Enjolras suggested.

"Yeah, good idea," Lucie said before pulling out her cellphone.

They exchanged numbers and went back to their dorms.

When Lucie walked into her room, Combeferre was already there.

"So," Combeferre asked, "how'd it go with Enjolras after Joly and I left?"

"Not bad," Lucie replied, "We were actually alone in there after everyone else left. We just sat there and read a book, but hey, we didn't kill each other."

"Really?" Combeferre said.

"Yeah, and it turns out, we're in the same art history class, and we exchanged numbers in case one of us misses class."

"So you guys are like BFFs now?"

"No, but he apologized for his behavior, and we're going to coexist peacefully."

"Wow, you got an apology out of Enj. He must really like you," Combeferre said almost in shock.

"You think he _likes_ me?" Lucie asked.

"Well," Combeferre explained, "he apologized to you, and he hates admitting he's wrong. Also, did you see the way he was looking at you during that meeting?"

"What do you mean 'the way he was looking at me'?" Lucie asked.

"Lucie, he was staring at you every chance he got once he heard you like history. I can only imagine his interest increased even more when he heard you like reading."

"You really think so, Ferre?"

"Why, do you like him?" Combeferre asked.

Lucie blushed, "No, it's just no one has ever really liked me before."

"Lucie Pontmercy, you are a terrible liar," Combeferre said.

"Oh, shut up!" Lucie yelled at him, "But seriously, Ferre, do you think he could…you know?"

"Yes, Lucie, I think he really does like you. I've known Enjolras a long long time and I know when he likes someone."

Lucie blushed again and Ferre laughed at her.

"I'm going to dinner with Chetta, are you coming?" Lucie asked Ferre.

"Yeah, let's go."

"I'll see if Marius and Courf want to join us. I know I'm not the only one of us who happens to maybe like someone."

It was Ferre's turn to blush now, "I hate you."

"You don't and you know it."

"Yeah, you're right."

"Do not tell anyone about Enjolras, please Combeferre," Lucie said as they were walking out of the room.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Lucie," Ferre responded.

The rest of the night was pretty uneventful.

The next morning, when Lucie woke up there was a little envelope slid under their door with one word written across it.

" _Combeferre"_


	4. Chapter 4

**C** hapter 4:

"Ferre, there's a note with your name on it on the floor over here," Lucie said before asking, "Should I be concerned?"

"Hhmm?" Combeferre hummed still waking up, "Oh, it's probably from Enjolras; I'll read it later."

"Why would he slide it under the door? Why wouldn't he just text you?" she asked.

"That's kind of a long story," Combeferre started, "Our elementary schools both had a pen-pal program for third graders and Enjolras was my pen-pal. After the year was over, we gave each other our real addresses and continued writing back and forth. Once we were older we started sending emails and texts and stuff, but still wrote actual letters too. Then Facebook came along and we were friends there, but we'd never met in person, being that we lived a few states away from each other. Then one day I get a letter saying he's decided to come here for college, so I immediately send one back saying 'no way me too!' and we met here on the first day of freshman year."

"So he still slips little notes under your door?"

"Yep, and I doubt he'll stop any time soon."

While Lucie was in class that morning, Combeferre read the note, it just said, " _Ferre, does Lucie have a boyfriend? Just wondering, and don't tell her about this letter-Enj."_

 _Idiot_ , Combeferre thought to himself.

Later that day Lucie and Ferre were in their room. Lucie was bored pacing back and forth and all of a sudden she stopped.

She looked at Combeferre and said, "I've come to the conclusion that you're wrong about me and Enjolras."

"Is that so?" he asked.

"Yes, it is. Regardless of whether he likes me or not, and I don't think he does, it could never work out between us."

"Why not, Lucie, do you have a boyfriend or something?" Combeferre asked remembering Enjolras's letter.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend. I did once but he was an ass and I don't want to talk about him. I just can't imagine the screaming arguments that Enjolras and I would have; it would be terrible," she said.

"I'm sure it could work between you," Combeferre said.

"No, I'm too much of a hassle, no one would want to date me," she sighed, putting her head down.

"And who told you that, your ex?" Combeferre asked, "If he did, he's wrong, Lucie. Anyone would be lucky to date you."

"I told you I don't want to talk about Montparnasse," Lucie muttered.

"Alright," Combeferre said, assuming (correctly) that Montparnasse was the ex-boyfriend that Lucie hated, "I still think that you and Enj would work out though."

A few days later, Lucie was in the student lounge, alone when Enjolras walked over.

"What's wrong?" he asked her.

"I wish people would stop asking me that," she snapped back. She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."

"So at the risk of being yelled at again, what's wrong?" he asked again.

Lucie sighed, "I got a call from my grandfather today."

"What's so bad about that?" Enjolras asked.

"He's been trying to get me to switch my major since the summer. He doesn't think I'm using my full potential becoming a teacher," she explained, "He just doesn't understand. I don't want to be a teacher because I think it's going to be an easy job. I want to be a teacher because I want to teach history the right way."

"What's the right way?"

"Most history teachers in this country teach the 'America is a hero that has never done anything wrong' version of history, and it's false and it's wrong to teach history that way. I want to be the teacher that says, 'Yeah, Americans owned slaves, and Indian removal happened, and in world war two we put Japanese-Americans in internment camps, and the Vietnam War was not our best decision, and America was wrong in doing these things.' Because these kids can't grow up thinking that America can do no wrong or else we get nothing but racism and war in our future."

Enjolras was silent; he'd never heard someone go off on the education system like that before.

"Sorry," Lucie said, "rant over."

"No," Enjolras said quickly, "never apologize for ranting about history or anything else for that matter. If we don't rant about things, then nothing ever changes."

"Oh, that reminds me," Lucie grinned fishing her laptop out of her bag, "I bookmarked this page on Amazon. I found something that I think you'll like."

"What is it?" Enjolras asked.

"Well wait a minute and I'll show you," Lucie said, finding the bookmark, "Here it is; check this out!"

Enjolras looked at the screen. It was a t-shirt with Teddy Roosevelt on it that said, _I don't always get shot while making a speech, but when I do I finish the damn speech!_ Enjolras laughed, "That is perfect!"

"That's not even the best part, the back says, 'Theodore Roosevelt: Original Badass,' which is the most accurate statement one could possibly make about T.R."

They both laughed, and after that began spending more time together, just talking about everything. They talked about history, of course, and music, and books, and even astronomy sometimes. They could only talk about astronomy for a few minutes, because neither of them knew enough about it to keep the conversation going.

Lucie walked into her math class a few days later, and went to take her usual seat (next to Bahorel).

As she walked into the room, she was greeted with a familiar voice, "Hey there, sweetheart."

Lucie jerked her head up from her book and was face to face with Montparnasse, "What are you doing here?"

"I transferred once I found out you were here," he said, "Why wouldn't I want to be in the same college as my girlfriend?"

"I'm not your girlfriend, Montparnasse," Lucie said.

"Why, of course you are!" he replied, "don't be stupid, Lucie."

"Leave me alone. We aren't a couple and nothing you say or do will ever change that," Lucie said before turning and walking to her desk.

As she sat down next to Bahorel, she began breathing more heavily, and felt like she could cry at any moment.

"What's up, Lucie?" Bahorel smiled.

Lucie jumped before realizing who was talking to her, "Oh, nothing much."

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Where are you going after class?" she asked him.

"Back to my room, why? Is everything OK?"

"No, but I need you to walk with me to Marius's room," she said, knowing that Bahorel looked intimidating, and that if she was alone that Montparnasse would follow her.

"Of course I'll walk with you, what's the matter?"

"I can't tell you right now, Bahorel," she explained.

"Just nod or shake your head," he said before asking quietly, "Is it that guy you were just talking to?"

Lucie nodded.

"Alright, then is he threatening you?"

Lucie shook her head and mouthed, "Not yet."

"Has he in the past?"

Lucie nodded.

"That's all I need to know for now," he whispered, "Listen, I'm going to take you right to mine and Feuilly's room and then send Feuilly to get Marius, OK?"

Lucie nodded again, "OK."

After class, Lucie and Bahorel were the first two out the door. As they walked to his room, Bahorel kept looking behind them, making sure that Montparnasse wasn't following them. When they got to the room, Feuilly was there doing his homework.

"Feuilly," Bahorel almost shouted, scaring him up from his book, "stop what you're doing."

"Why, Bahorel, what's wrong?" Feuilly asked.

"Lucie is here and she needs to talk to Marius, but she doesn't want to leave the room, go get Marius. I'll explain when you get back."

"What room number is Marius, Lucie?" Feuilly asked.

"Uuumm," Lucie thought for a minute, "He and Courf are in 315."

"I'll be right back," Feuilly said, running out the door.

"Alright," Bahorel told Lucie, "Spill."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

Lucie was still trying to catch her breath, she felt like her heart would explode, "Bahorel, I-I-I can't right now," she stammered, "Just-just I have to wait for Marius."

"Alright, Lucie," Bahorel agreed understandingly.

Meanwhile Feuilly had just found Marius and Courfeyrac's room. He knocked on the door.

Marius answered, "Feuilly, what's up?" he asked.

"Marius," Feuilly said, "Lucie is in my room with Bahorel, and she needs to talk to you. They didn't explain why, but it sounds serious. She doesn't look too good."

"Lead the way, Feuilly," Marius said, beginning to worry.

Lucie sat down at Bahorel's desk and closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, and unknowingly started rocking back and forth.

"Damn it," Feuilly muttered, "Bahorel let us in, I forgot my ID," he shouted knocking on the door.

Bahorel opened the door and Marius pushed passed Feuilly to get to Lucie, "Lu, what's wrong?" he asked.

"He's here," Lucie said beginning to cry.

"Who's here?" Marius asked.

"Montparnasse," she said quietly, "he transferred here; he's in my math class."

"What?" Marius said shocked, "How did he know you were here?"

"I don't know. I have him and all of his friends blocked on social media, I didn't tell him I wanted to go here."

"Then how could he have—," he stopped, "Oh no."

"What?" Lucie asked.

"Grandpa put it in the papers," Marius said.

Lucie's eyes widened, "Of course, God damn it!" she yelled.

"Lucie," Marius said taking her shaking hands, "it's going to be OK, I promise."

"I thought I was rid of him for good," she cried.

"What's going on?" Bahorel asked.

"I'll explain later," Marius said, "Come on, Lucie, I'll bring you back to your room and we'll figure this out tomorrow."

"OK," Lucie whispered.

After Marius brought Lucie back to her room, he returned to Bahorel and Feuilly's dorm.

"Marius," Bahorel asked, "What on Earth is going on?"

"We used to be a couple," Lucie began to explain to Combeferre; "We were in love, for a while, or at least I was in love with him. After about six months, he started to insult me all the time and I just brushed it off; I thought that he was only joking. One day we got into an argument and we were both yelling, but he was definitely yelling more, and he slapped me. I would have broken up with him right there, but he apologized immediately and begged for my forgiveness, claiming that he just got angry and he promised me it would never happen again. He was crying and everything. So I believed him. It didn't even leave a mark, the first time that is. It happened again a month or so later, only worse, and I tried to break up with him, but he threatened to ruin my life if I did, but I broke up with him anyway. Then he started to harass my friends until they all stopped hanging out with me because they couldn't take it anymore. I got back together with him after that because he threatened to hurt Marius if I didn't. He kept hurting me and calling me stupid and wouldn't let me talk to other guys even if he knew we were just friends. One fight left me with a black eye and various other injuries, mostly just bruises. I broke it off after that, but he threatened me and said I'd regret doing it. I told Marius almost everything and he made sure Montparnasse didn't bother me at school, but he still kept calling me his girlfriend and one of his friends even pushed me down the stairs one day when Marius was home sick. I was afraid being in the same school as him. But once I got here, it got better and I made friends and I wasn't terrified to turn a corner anymore," she was in tears at this point, "I thought it was over."

Combeferre got up and hugged her, "Don't you worry, Lucie, none of us are going to let that son of a bitch anywhere near you."

"Ferre," she said, "I lost my virginity to him. I haven't even told Marius that."

"Did he…?" he started to ask.

"No," Lucie said, "It was 100% my decision. It happened before everything started going downhill."

Marius was explaining the situation to Feuilly and Bahorel in their room and he stopped punching Bahorel's desk, "Damn it!" he shouted, "He can't just keep ruining her life here!"

Feuilly put his hand on Marius's shoulder, "Don't worry Marius," he said, "We won't let him."

"How?" Bahorel and Marius asked in unison.

"We're going to all watch over her, that's how. I'm calling Combeferre," Feuilly said.

"He's in the room with Lucie," Marius pointed out.

"I know," Feuilly said, "I'm going to see what Combeferre thinks based on what he's currently observing."

Combeferre looked at his cellphone, "It's Feuilly," he told Lucie.

"Oh, yeah," Lucie said, "Marius is explaining it to him and Bahorel."

"Hello," Combeferre said, answering his phone, "What's up Feuilly?"

"How are we going to protect Lucie?" Feuilly asked.

"Well there's about ten of us, right?" Combeferre replied, "I say we just walk to classes and stuff together."

"That's perfect!" Feuilly said, "What's her schedule like?"

Combeferre looked over at Lucie and then focused back on the conversation, "I'll talk to her about it later."

"Alright, bye, Ferre," Feuilly agreed.

"Later," Combeferre said before hanging up.

"So," Lucie said, "What did he want?"

"We're all going to make sure that Montparnasse can't get anywhere near you. And by all of us I mean every single member of the club," Combeferre told her.

"No," she said, "That's not your job. I can handle this myself."

"It's already decided," Combeferre explained, "We don't allow our friends to be threatened."

"Combeferre, I am not your or anyone else's responsibility."

"Lucie, we're going to help you," Combeferre said, "that's that."

"I—I just don't want you guys to treat me differently, or change how you act in front of me. I'm still the same person I was before you found out."

"We're all meeting up for dinner in a half hour; we'll discuss our plans there instead of the next meeting. You're coming, right?"

"To dinner or the next meeting?" Lucie asked.

"Dinner," Combeferre said.

"Yeah, I guess," Lucie sighed. Then her eyes filled with panic, "What if he's there?"

"It won't matter because all of us will be there with you," Combeferre said reassuringly, "It'll be fine."

Lucie took a deep breath, "OK," she finally said, "Wait, is Enjolras going to be there? I was just wondering."

"No, he has class until 7:30 tonight," Combeferre responded, "Why?"

"No reason, I just don't want to be there when he finds out, that's all."

"I'll fill him in later on, maybe I'll slide a note under his door," he joked.

When they arrived at the dining hall, Marius explained the situation to the others while Lucie and Combeferre were getting their food.

Everyone was silent when they returned to the table. Lucie knew that they knew.

Musichetta was the first to break the silence, "Lucie," she said, "If I ever hear about him laying a hand on you ever again, the doctors will never be able to reattach his penis to the rest of his body."

"Here, here!" Grantaire shouted.

Lucie laughed, "Thanks, guys."

"What's your schedule, Lu?" Jehan asked, "We'll work out who's going where with you now."

Lucie told them her schedule and they formed a few alternative plans, just in case one of them was sick one day or something.

The next day, Combeferre didn't have class until the afternoon, so he walked Lucie to her 10am American history class. She took her usual seat next to Enjolras. She was barely on time, so class started as she sat down.

A few minutes into the lesson she heard Enjolras whisper, "Pssst, Lu."

She looked over at him when the professor wasn't looking, and he handed her a note.

It said: " _Combeferre told me everything. I'm here for you._ "

Lucie smiled, turned it over and wrote, " _Thank you, Enj. But don't treat me any differently; I can still debate your ass into oblivion._ " She passed the note back to him.

Enjolras had to use all of his strength not to erupt in laughter.

After class, Enjolras asked Lucie, "Really, were you trying to get me kicked out for laughing?"

Lucie grinned, "No, I wasn't. I just can't keep thinking about Montparnasse, so I made a joke instead. I meant it though."

"Let me walk you back to your room," Enjolras said, smiling.

"Actually, I was going to go to the dining hall," she said, "I overslept this morning and didn't have time for breakfast."

"Me too, actually," Enjolras said, "I just didn't want you walking back alone."

Once they got to the dining hall, Lucie made a beeline for the coffee while Enjolras set his things down at a table.

"Lucie," she heard before turning around to see Montparnasse, "Who was that boy in our math class?" he asked angrily.

"My friend, Bahorel," she said, "what does it matter?"

"You're cheating on me aren't you?" he yelled, getting the attention of Enjolras.

"We—we aren't a couple, Montparnasse," she stammered.

"You better not be, you slut!" he shouted at her.

"I meant you and me. I'm not your girlfriend," Lucie said.

"You stupid girl," Montparnasse said through his teeth as he reached to grab Lucie's arm.

Enjolras stepped between Montparnasse and Lucie before his hand got to her arm, "Leave her alone, or I swear on all things holy that I will make you suffer!" he said locking eyes with Montparnasse.

The two stayed staring at each other for a moment before Montparnasse said, "This isn't over," and walked away.

"Lucie are you OK?" Enjolras asked. He could see the tears pooling in her eyes.

She blinked them away, "Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you for stepping in like that. I know he can be intimidating."

"No problem at all, Lu. God, I need coffee," Enjolras sighed.

"You run solely on coffee too?" Lucie asked.

"Yeah, coffee and oxygen," Enjolras laughed.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Lucie asked. She didn't give Enjolras time to answer, "This is my third cup today."

"How? You said you slept late," Enjolras asked amazed.

"I had one while I was getting ready and brought my portable cup to class with me."

"Wow, you're quite the professional in coffee consumption, I've only had one cup besides this one."

"Amateur," Lucie teased.

"Any more classes today?" Enjolras asked her.

"Nope, just history on Wednesdays," she said, "You?"

"Same, actually. How did we not figure this out before?"

"I have no idea!"

After about a half hour, Enjolras walked Lucie back to her room. Combeferre was in class so it was empty.

Lucie really didn't feel like spending the afternoon alone, and Enjolras secretly didn't want to leave her alone after the incident in the dining hall.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

"Why don't you come in and hang out for a while?" Lucie said.

"Uum, sure," Enjolras said, "I have all day to do my homework."

"That's the spirit," Lucie said as Enjolras followed her into the room.

Lucie plugged her laptop in and turned on Pandora, "I hope you like Bowie," she said.

"I've never really listened to him," Enjolras confessed.

"Enj, you have no idea what you are missing out on!" Lucie said as the first song started playing, " _Space_ _Oddity_ , perfect." She climbed onto her bed (assisted by the stepstool of course)

"Lucie," Enjolras asked hesitantly, "are you sure you're OK?"

"I'm fine," she said before adding, "Come sit," patting the bed next to her. When Enjolras didn't move, Lucie rolled her eyes, "Oh, come on! I don't bite unless provoked."

"Lu, I know we've only been friends for a month or so, but I know when you're lying to me," Enjolras said, giving in and climbing onto the bed to sit next to Lucie.

"I'm not lying, Enj," Lucie paused as Enjolras turned his head and stared at her in disbelief, "Ok, if you weren't there, I wouldn't be fine right now, but you were…so I am." _That last part sounded awkward as hell_ , she thought as she said, "God, I am so sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Enjolras asked confused, "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"He's never going to leave you alone now, and it's my fault," she said, getting noticeably upset.

"Let me worry about that," he put his hand on Lucie's shoulder, looked into her eyes and told said, "Listen, Lucie, there's nothing he can do that would make me regret what I did."

They were silent until Lucie smiled and said, "Ooh! This is my favorite line!"

" _And the stars look very different today"_

"Is this song why you love space, or do you love this song because you love space?" Enjolras asked jokingly.

"I love the song because I love space, but also because David Bowie is a god," she said.

"A god?" he asked, laughing.

"Yes," she said seriously, before grinning, "in fact…" Lucie pulled the right side of her shirt up to reveal the words 'And the stars look very different today' tattooed just below where her bra fell on her ribcage.

"Wow," was all Enjolras thought to say before quickly adding, "I didn't know you had a tattoo. When did you get it?"

"I got it right after I ended things with Montparnasse for good. I guess I chose this line because it reminded me that everything seemed different, in a good way, without him in my life," she shrugged, "I know it's stupid, but—," she said before Enjolras interrupted her.

"No it isn't," he insisted, "if it helps you through this situation at all, or means something important to you, then it isn't stupid at all. You don't need to justify it to anyone, not me, not your grandfather, not Marius, not anyone."

Lucie was shocked to say the least. This was the first time in a long time that a guy (except Marius of course) told her anything like that…that her actions weren't stupid, and that she wasn't stupid.

She started to cry, "I might have ruined your life; I don't deserve to have friends like you and the others."

Enjolras leaned in until their faces were inches apart, "Yes, Lucie, you do," he said, gently turning her head and looking into her eyes. He'd never noticed how green they were. God, he wanted to kiss her, and she wanted to be kissed by him. As he was about to bring his lips to hers, they heard Combeferre's key in the lock.

Lucie had never seen Enjolras move so fast. Before Combeferre was even in the room, Enjolras was off the bed and sitting at Lucie's desk fiddling with the music.

"Hey, Enj," he smiled, greeting his friend as he walked through the door, "what brings you here?"

"We had a run in with Montparnasse in the dining hall," Enjolras explained, "I was just staying with Lucie to make sure there was no trouble."

"What happened?" Combeferre asked, concerned.

Lucie got off the bed and told him what had happened in the dining hall, with both fists clenched, trying to take deep breaths as she relived it in her mind.

Combeferre looked at Enjolras, "Thank God you were there, Enj."

Enjolras barely heard him as he watched Lucie try to keep from breaking down, "Are you absolutely sure that you're alright, Lu?"

Lucie finally gave in and decided to stop lying to herself and her friends; she shook her head, "No. I thought I was, but I'm not. I'm terrified for all of you. Montparnasse gets what he wants and he hurts people to do it. One of my friends had to stop hanging out with me because Montparnasse and his friends sent her _death threats_ and I'd bet they weren't joking. I'm scared that he's going to hurt you guys to hurt me."

"We won't let him, Lucie," Combeferre said reassuringly, as he watched tears roll down Lucie's face.

"He's going to hurt me again!" she almost screamed, "even after I swore he wouldn't!" she was shaking, and Enjolras and Combeferre were starting to get worried.

Lucie began to collapse to the floor, and Combeferre didn't realize what was happening fast enough to catch her.

Luckily, Enjolras did, "Lucie! Lucie!" he shouted.

No response, she was conscious, but she wouldn't stop shaking.

Lucie wanted to stop, but she couldn't. She couldn't speak, and she couldn't think straight.

Combeferre the one person in the club who was usually cool and collected was pacing back and forth, pulling at his hair, and almost hyperventilating, "Oh my God, what do we do, Enj?" Enjolras was a little shocked, he expected this behavior from Joly, maybe even Jehan, but Combeferre? It was unheard of.

"Combeferre—," Enjolras began.

"What do we do?" Combeferre interrupted.

"Combeferre—," he tried again, now kneeling on the floor holding Lucie so she didn't hit her head on the floor and get a concussion on top of all this.

"What if she—," Combeferre tried to interrupt again.

"Combeferre!" Enjolras yelled, getting his friend's attention, "get Marius, now!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Combeferre ran out of the room faster than he'd ever moved in his life, while Enjolras stayed with Lucie. He arrived at Marius and Courfeyrac's room out of breath. He knocked on the door and hunched over with his hands just above his knees, as he waited for an answer. _I need to start working out,_ he thought to himself.

Courfeyrac answered the door…shirtless, "Hey Ferre! What's up?" he asked grinning. He noticed the look on Combeferre's face and stopped smiling, "What's wrong, Ferre?"

Combeferre thought _Oh, god not now_ as he stared at Courfeyrac's chest and arms for maybe too long before snapping out of it, "Where's Marius?"

Marius came to the door, "Right here, Ferre…why is Lucie OK?"

"No she's not…she started sh-shaking and almost fainted. Enjolras caught her but-but she hasn't stopped shaking and she's br-breathing funny," Combeferre stammered.

"Oh, dear God!" Courfeyrac gasped.

"Is she in your room?" Marius asked grabbing his room key and cell phone.

"Yeah, come on, Enj is still with her," Combeferre said walking towards the staircase.

"I'm coming too," Courfeyrac called after them, pulling a shirt over his head.

Back in her room, Lucie was still on the floor in Enjolras's arms. A few minutes after Combeferre left, she'd tried take a few deep breaths, but couldn't pull herself together.

"Lucie," Enjolras said before pausing, thinking of anything he could possibly say to calm her down. It took a minute, but after scanning through everything that he knew about Lucie he said, "Lucie, please talk to me…come on, tell me how wrong I am about Thomas Jefferson, or the women's suffrage movement, or something," he paused and smiled, "Debate my ass into oblivion."

"Enj?" she managed to say eventually. She tried to say more but she still couldn't catch her breath all the way.

"Ssh, you're safe. I won't let go of you," Enjolras said gently.

Lucie took a few deep breaths and smiled a little, "You really want to lose a debate right now?" she asked.

Enjolras sighed in relief, "I'm always up for losing a debate to you, Lucie."

Lucie calmed down more and after a few minutes said, "I think I can stand now."

"Are you sure?" Enjolras asked, stilled concerned.

"Yeah," Lucie replied taking a deep breath, "but I might need a hand."

"Of course," Enjolras said standing up and offering her his hand, "here you go."

Lucie took his hand and climbed to her feet; Enjolras grabbed her shoulders as she stood up. She wobbled a little once she got on her feet, but Enjolras's hands on her shoulders steadied her.

"You scared me a little," Enjolras laughed nervously after about a minute of silence.

"Sorry," Lucie said looking down, "I didn't mean—,"

"No, don't apologize," Enjolras interrupted, "it wasn't your fault; it was his."

Lucie didn't respond, _it is my fault_ , she thought.

Enjolras moved his head to meet her eyes, "Lucie, I mean it," he said, "This was NOT your fault, and I'm not mad at you."

"Uuumm…" Lucie said somewhat grinning, "you can let go now, Enj."

"Oh," Enjolras said removing his hands from Lucie's shoulders and thrusting them into his pockets, "sorry."

"It's quite alright," she said, blushing a little.

 _Is she blushing?_ Enjolras thought. _Am I blushing?_

Before Enj could prove or disprove his suspicions, Combeferre burst through the door followed by Marius and Courfeyrac, "We're here!" he yelled louder than he should have, his voice cracking a little.

"Everything's OK," Lucie said, "Sorry about that, Ferre, I know you were really worried."

"Don't apologize," Combeferre said, "it's OK."

Marius interrupted before Lucie could argue, "What happened, Lucie? Was it another panic attack?"

"Yeah, I think it was, but I'm OK now, Marius," she said.

"That son of a bitch gives you panic attacks?" Courfeyrac asked shocked.

"Well, they stopped after graduation," Lucie explained, "But here we are," she said laughing weakly.

"Are you seriously making a joke about this, Lucie?" Marius asked frustrated.

"What would you like me to do, Marius?" Lucie shot back, "Would you rather I let it get under my skin to the point that I can't even speak about it?"

"You're right, Lu, I'm sorry," Marius said, "It just makes me so angry that Montparnasse would think to put you through this again. I didn't mean to take it out on anyone, especially you."

"I know, Marius," she said. She waited a couple seconds, "You guys can go back to whatever it was you were doing before. I'll be fine."

"You're sure?" Marius asked.

"Yep, I'm sure," Lucie smiled.

Of course she wasn't really sure that she would be OK, how could she be? She just hated it when Marius worried about her.

"Well, if you need anything, call me," Marius said before turning and walking out of the room, "See you later, Lu."

Courfeyrac followed, "See you guys at dinner," he said before waving a nervous goodbye to Combeferre. They heard him through the door saying, "Come on, Marius, let's go to the gym!"

Once Marius and Courfeyrac were gone, Combeferre asked Lucie and Enjolras if they wanted to go to the bookstore with him.

"You sure you don't want to go to the gym?" Lucie asked, raising an eyebrow at Combeferre. After catching his look of disapproval, she followed up with, "Just kidding, you know I'm always up for the bookstore, Ferre."

"What about you, Enjolras?" Combeferre asked.

"I would love to, guys, but I should really go do my homework," Enjolras replied.

"You're no fun," Lucie teased.

"Well, I have to do the reading for history, and I lost my textbook somewhere in my room. It'll take me at least an hour to find it," Enjolras explained.

"Enj," Lucie said, giving him the how-can-you-be-so-smart-yet-so-stupid look.

"What?" he asked.

"Think about what you just said," she told him, giving him a moment to think.

"What about it?" he asked.

"Enj, I'm in your history class," she said.

"Yeah, I know…and…?"

"Enjolras, I bought the damn textbook," she almost yelled, "Just borrow mine!"

"But don't you need it to do the reading?" he asked.

"Enj, I've already done the reading," she said, laughing and handing him the textbook.

"Of course you have," Enjolras sighed, honestly he should have known that Lucie would have done the reading already.

"So, is that still a no from you, Enj?" Combeferre asked.

"I'm afraid so, Ferre," Enjolras said, "I've got to get cracking on this reading now, or I'll keep procrastinating, and never do it." He turned back to Lucie, "I'll give your book back either at dinner later or tomorrow."

"No rush," she grinned, "I read all the assignments for the next two weeks already," she paused as Combeferre and Enjolras stared at her, "They were about the Revolution and Constitutional Convention. Come on, you guys know that's my favorite part of American history," she still got no response from her friends as their stares became more…knowing, "Fine! I wanted to make sure the author didn't bad-mouth Hamilton!" she admitted.

"That's more likely," Enjolras said.

"Watch it!" Lucie said, "You still owe me a debate."

"Oh, no," Combeferre laughed asking, "Enj, what have you gotten yourself into?"

"I'm not even going to tell you when it's going to happen," Lucie said, "I'm just going to wait until you're wrong about something, and pounce! It could happen in class, at a meeting, in a minute, or in three weeks. You'll never know, until it happens."

"Oh, dear god, help me!" Enjolras muttered as he buried his face in his hands.

"No one can help you now, Enjolras," Lucie said with an evil laugh.

Enjolras rolled his eyes, "I'll see you two later," he said walking out of the room.

"Later," Lucie called after him.

"So," Combeferre said as they headed to the bookstore, "looking for any book in particular?"

"Now that I think of it, actually, I _do_ need a copy of _Common Sense_ by Thomas Paine to write my research paper for the end of the semester," she said.

"I meant for fun," Combeferre said, "You do read for fun, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Lucie almost shouted, "In fact, now that you mention it, I could use a new fiction book. Musichetta told me to read _Where the Heart Is_. Maybe I'll look for that one."

So Lucie and Combeferre went book shopping, and if just for a moment, Lucie forgot the rest of the world. As she cleared her mind of Montparnasse, however, she realized that Combeferre was right…she most certainly was in love with Enjolras.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

As Combeferre and Lucie walked through the bookstore, Lucie couldn't quite take her mind off of Enjolras.

"Hey, Ferre…you know what you said about me and Enjolras?" she asked.

"What about it?" Combeferre said.

Just then Courfeyrac saw them through the window on his way to the gym, and decided to stop in, "Hey, guys! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Never mind," Lucie said, "What's up Courf?"

"Same old shit," he laughed, "What are you guys doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious, Courf?" Combeferre said, pausing and following up with, "We're plotting the downfall of our oppressive government."

"Well, yeah, but besides that!" Courfeyrac smiled.

"Just looking for some new reading material," Lucie shrugged.

" _Common Sense_?" Courf asked, "That's hardly light reading, Lucie."

"Well ya know," Lucie said, "I've been reading _Common Sense_ by Thomas Paine. Some men say that I'm intense or I'm insane. You want a revolution? I want a revelation!—," she sang before Courfeyrac interrupted her.

"So listen to my declaration!" he practically shouted, "I love that song!"

"Me too!" Combeferre agreed, "Wait a minute, are we all Hamilton nerds?"

"It would appear so," Lucie said.

"Sweet!" Courf exclaimed, high fiving Ferre and Lucie.

The three of them were still laughing when Montparnasse walked into the bookstore.

"I thought I might find you here, babe," he said to Lucie grinning.

"Leave me alone 'Parnasse," she told him.

"Now is that any way to speak to your boyfriend?" he asked.

"Good thing you aren't my boyfriend," she replied.

"Of course I am, Lucie," he said.

"Leave Lucie alone," Combeferre said threateningly, stepping between Lucie and Montparnasse.

Montparnasse laughed looking around Combeferre at Lucie, "Seriously, Lucie? What's your fag friend going to do here?"

Courfeyrac's head snapped from Combeferre to Montparnasse as he saw the sting in Ferre's eyes, "You don't have to worry about him, but you'll have to worry about this _'fag'_ if you _EVER_ —," he started yelling before Lucie interrupted him, by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"No," she said, stepping from behind Combeferre.

"What?" Montparnasse asked.

Courfeyrac decided that he should film this. He didn't quite know why, but something told him this was going to be good.

"I said no," Lucie almost growled, staring Montparnasse dead in the eye. She took a deep breath, "You can call me whatever you want, Montparnasse...slut, whore, tramp, bitch…I've heard it all, mostly from you. But don't you _ever_ use any kind of slur to describe one of my friends like that again, or I swear you'll regret it…got it?"

Montparnasse stared at her in shock, "Whatever…I'll see you later, babe," he said before leaving the store.

Lucie stood there almost frozen, kind of light-headed.

"Are you alright, Lu?" Courfeyrac asked, "Do you want me to call Marius?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…don't—don't call Marius," she said.

"Are you sure?" Combeferre asked.

Lucie nodded, "Can we go back to the room? I think I need to lie down."

"Of course," Ferre said, "You can come, too Courf, if you want that is," he stammered nervously.

"I have a workout to do, but I'll see you guys later," Courfeyrac said, "Oh and by the way, Lucie, that was the coolest thing I've ever seen anyone do…like ever"

Lucie laughed weakly, trying to keep herself from crying. She was successful, "I keep telling you people I'm awesome."

"What about your book, Lucie?" Combeferre asked.

"I doubt they'll sell out of _Common Sense_ by tomorrow, Ferre," Lucie said.

"Yeah, you're right," Ferre agreed.

On the way back to their room, Combeferre and Lucie didn't really talk.

It was Combeferre who broke the silence, "Lucie, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but I just wanted to say thanks for sticking up for me back there…no one has ever done that before."

"No problem, Ferre," Lucie smiled, "No one makes fun of my friends but me," she said shoving him playfully.

He grinned and shoved back, "Don't I know it. You know Courf got the whole thing on camera?"

"Really?" Lucie asked, "Why would he do that?"

"Beats me…I just texted him and asked…I should be hearing back any second," with that his phone buzzed, "as if on cue."

"What does it say?" Lucie asked.

"He says he's going to show it to you the next time you feel afraid of Montparnasse…so you know that you can stand up to him."

Lucie smiled, "Tell him I said thanks."

Combeferre nodded as his fingers clicked on his phone screen.

When they got back to the room, Lucie climbed onto her bed, "If I'm not up in an hour, wake me up."

"Ok," Combeferre said, picking up a book and sitting at his desk.

At the dining hall, Courfeyrac was telling everyone about Lucie "slaying" Montparnasse verbally at the bookstore, "She was incredible! I was a little frightened of her to be honest. She was Lucie, badass destroyer of bigots."

The others at the table laughed at the Shakespearean level performance that Courfeyrac was putting them through. They all stopped as Lucie walked over to the table with Combeferre.

"So…I'm guessing that Courf told you all?" she asked.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Feuilly said, confused.

"Because as I walked in he was nearly standing on a table, and when you saw me it got really quiet," she explained.

"Wow," Grantaire said, "You can't trick Lucie."

"Nope," Lucie agreed, "I'm untrickable. Marius on the other hand…," she began.

"Don't you dare, Lucie," Marius almost shouted.

"Too late now," Bahorel said, "Tell us, Lu!"

"I convinced him he was adopted when we were 10," Lucie said trying to hold back her laughter.

"That's so cruel!" Enjolras laughed.

"What?" Lucie said, "I didn't think it would work! We're twins for God's sake! Besides, he deserved it."

"But you don't look that much alike," Jehan said as if he was just noticing it for the first time.

"There are pictures of us in the hospital with our mother…together…on the day we were born," Lucie said, "There was no other reason for him to believe he was adopted."

"Why'd you do it?" Joly asked.

"Marius took my stuffed dog and wouldn't give it back. So I just told him 'Ya know you were adopted, Marius? If I tell on you for taking my puppy, Daddy can take you back!' and he started bawling his eyes out," Lucie explained.

Marius was unamused to say the least, "That's alright, Lucie. Just make fun of me…I'm only your brother, who loves you."

"Don't be such a drama queen, Marius," Lucie said, rolling her eyes.

After dinner, Lucie and Combeferre went back to their room. Lucie did her psychology reading and her writing journals, watched the Daily Show, and went to bed.

Montparnasse was in her room. Enjolras was lying on her floor. Lucie looked back and forth between them in tears. Enjolras wasn't breathing. _No he couldn't have. He can't be…NO!_

Lucie woke up with a scream, in tears, covered in sweat.

"Lucie," Combeferre said, getting out of bed as fast as he could, "It was only a dream, Lucie."

Lucie snapped out of it rather quickly. It was 2:30 in the morning, "I'm sorry," she breathed quietly.

"It's alright, Lucie," Combeferre paused, "What was it? The dream, I mean."

"Montparnasse killed him…not like with a knife or a gun…just pushed him and he hit his head on something on the way down," Lucie said tearing up.

"Killed who?" he asked, confused

"Enjolras," Lucie said, "that's what I was trying to tell you in the bookstore, Ferre."

"Wait, you—," Combeferre said as he realized exactly what Lucie was saying.

"Yeah," Lucie smiled, "I do…I really like him…and here I am having nightmares about 'Parnasse taking him away from me."

Combeferre took Lucie's hand, "That isn't going to happen, Lucie. I promise that won't happen."

"How can you be so sure?" Lucie asked.

"We aren't going to let him, and remember what you did in the bookstore earlier, Lucie?"

Lucie nodded.

"He has no power over you anymore, and he never will," Combeferre said, "Now go back to sleep…you have class in the morning."

"OK, sorry I woke you up, Ferre."

"You didn't wake me up," Combeferre admitted, "I was already lying awake and thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Lucie asked.

"More about who…" Combeferre said trailing off at the end of his sentence.

"Alright then, thinking about whom?" Lucie asked, smirking as if she didn't already know.

"Courfeyrac," Combeferre whispered.

"He can't hear you, Ferre, you can say his name a little louder," Lucie mocked.

"Oh, shut up…you know…you knew before I did."

"He feels the same way."

"No he doesn't."

"Of course he does."

"What makes you say that?"

"Did you see the way he looked at you today? Or how he reacted when Montparnasse…you know."

"I guess I didn't notice," Combeferre shrugged.

"Go to sleep, Ferre, stop worrying."

"OK, you too."

"Deal," Lucie smiled at she turned off the light.

Neither of them woke up until the next morning.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Just so you all know I'm going to do something really shady in the beginning of the next chapter and I apologize in advance for it.**

 **Chapter 9:**

The next few days were pretty uneventful for Lucie. The semester was moving along really fast; it was almost Halloween. They were all trying to decide what to dress up as for the campus Halloween costume party/contest.

Courfeyrac and Marius had decided to go as Luigi and Mario from the Super Mario Brothers video game. It was Courfeyrac's idea, but Marius was thrilled with the pun of it ("It's-a me, Marius!").

Musichetta was dressing up as Esmerelda from _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ ; she even made her own costume. Joly and Bossuet were going as Phoebus (Bossuet) and Djali, the goat (Joly) because Musichetta insisted on a group costume.

Feuilly and Bahorel were going as Nun-Chucks (Chuck Norris dressed as a nun). Bahorel claimed it was his idea, but everyone suspected Feuilly to be the true mastermind.

Grantaire decided to dress up as Vincent Van Gough during the day on Halloween, but only because his art professor offered extra credit to anyone who dressed up as their favorite painter. For the party that night, however, he got a T-Rex costume.

Jehan took a similar route and dressed as his favorite poet, Edgar Allen Poe (complete with Raven).

Combeferre wouldn't tell anyone what his costume was before the party, but they all suspected Moth Man.

After days of contemplation, Enjolras decided on something that would make Lucie laugh, Abraham Lincoln…Vampire Hunter.

"What are you being for Halloween, Enj?" Lucie asked him on the way back to the dorms after history class.

"Abraham Lincoln," he replied, "Vampire Hunter."

"Abraham Lincoln was NOT a vampire hunter!" Lucie laughed.

"How do you know that?" Enjolras asked, "Did you know the guy?"

"Obviously I didn't know Abraham Lincoln, Enjolras. Vampires aren't real, that's how," Lucie said.

"What if they are though, Lucie, then what?"

"Oh my god, I am _not_ having this argument with you," Lucie said, rolling her eyes and laughing, "Vampires aren't real and even if they were President Lincoln had more important things to do than hunt them."

"What about you? What are you dressing up as this year?" he asked her.

"I don't know yet. Help me decide, Enj," she replied.

Enjolras thought for a moment, "You could be someone from _Doctor Who_."

Lucie contemplated it for a minute before shaking her head, "The only companion I look anything like is Clara, and I don't want to be her."

"What about a Disney character, then?"

"Like who?" Lucie asked, "A princess?"

"As a matter of fact, I was thinking Belle," Enjolras said. He grinned, "Even though her story takes place in the 1790s and she and the prince probably would have been beheaded in the French Revolution, I know she's your favorite."

Lucie smiled, "That's perfect!" she exclaimed, "But where am I going to get a good Belle costume with only two weeks left?"

"Chetta can help you," Enjolras said, "She's already done with her costume and I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping you with yours!"

"That is a great idea, Enjolras!" she hugged him, "I'm going to go call Chetta." She ran up the stairs to her room, "Thanks, Enj!" she called over her shoulder.

After talking with Musichetta on the phone, she sent Enjolras a text, _Belle is a go!_

A week and a half later, Lucie tried on her costume for the first time. It was a perfect replica of Belle's yellow ball gown.

"Oh, Chetta, it's perfect," she beamed looking at herself in the mirror, "How can I ever thank you?"

"Don't worry about it, sweetie; that's what friends are for. You'll just owe me help with a history project or somethin'."

Lucie smiled, "Deal...it really is beautiful, Chetta."

"You look absolutely beautiful," Musichetta said before raising an eyebrow, "I'm sure Enjolras will agree."

Lucie's cheeks went pink, "What makes you say that?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you, and don't think I haven't seen the way you look at him," Chetta replied.

Lucie tried to come up with a quick retort, but couldn't seem to argue. She looked at her reflection again, "Do you really think he'll think I look beautiful, Chetta?"

Musichetta rolled her eyes and smiled, "Of course he will, Lucie, He already does. Now let's get you out of that dress so it's a surprise on Friday night."

Lucie walked back to her room after taking off the costume and agreeing to meet Musichetta and hour before the dance so she could help her with her costume, hair, and makeup.

"What are you so smiley about?" Ferre asked Lucie later that night in their room.

Lucie looked over at Ferre, "You'll see at the party Friday night."

"What did you finally decide on, Lu?" he asked.

"No chance in hell I'm telling you," Lucie shot back jokingly, "You won't tell me what you're going to be, so I'm not telling you either."

"Does anyone know?"

"Only Musichetta and Enjolras know. Enjolras doesn't even know the full extent of the costume."

Combeferre went back to his book, "Fine…so be it," he grinned.

The dance finally rolled around two days later. Lucie saw Combeferre's costume before she left to get ready with Musichetta.

"Well, Combeferre, my dear friend…Courfeyrac is going to love it," Lucie assured him.

Everyone was already at the dance when Lucie and Musichetta arrived.

"I'll go in now," Chetta told Lucie, "You make your big entrance in a minute."

Lucie nodded, "OK," she said, "Wait, Chetta…do I really look OK?" she asked

"Of course, darlin', you're gonna break a lot of hearts tonight," she reassured Lucie as she walked into the dance.

She waited an extra minute before heading inside. She took a deep breath, _OK, Lucie, you can do this_.

Lucie would've been lying if she'd said that she hadn't scanned the crowed for Enjolras as soon as she opened the doors. She found him with ease thanks to his Lincoln hat. He didn't notice that the door had opened until he heard a cat call coming from Courfeyrac. He was about to reprimand Courfeyrac for doing such a thing when he looked up and saw Lucie, who had turned bright red as a result of Courf's whistle.

Enjolras walked to Lucie quickly, "Lucie…you—you look beautiful."

Lucie was about to respond, but she was cut off by the DJ saying, "Alright now this next song was requested by one of you, but not the person you probably think it was. You might wanna grab a partner for this one."

Lucie tried to contain her excitement as the song _Beauty and the Beast_ started playing. She looked around for who could've requested it until her eyes met Musichetta who winked and made an inappropriate gesture mouthing 'Get some'.

"Lucie," Enjolras said bringing her attention back to him, "May I have this dance?" he asked extending his hand.

Lucie nodded, "You may," she said taking his head, allowing him to lead her to the center of the floor.

He stopped once they got there, "Oh, there seems to be something I've forgotten…I can't dance."

"Oh…it's easy, really," Lucie paused. When Enjolras didn't respond she rolled her eyes and smiled softly, "Come on put one hand here," she said placing his right hand on her lower back, "good now hold my hand with the other one."

"Like this?" he asked.

"Perfect, now start dancing," she replied.

He took a few steps, "I'm not sure if I'm doing this right…"

"You're doing fine," she assured him, "let yourself go to the music a little."

Enjolras smiled and, as if by magic, danced through the rest of the song.

Once the song was over, Lucie noticed Courfeyrac pouting in a corner.

"I'll be right back," she said before making her way over to Courf, "What's eating you Courfeyrac?" she asked him.

Courfeyrac gestured towards Combeferre, "He thinks he can walk into MY house dressed like Freddie Mercury in those tight white jeans, and that white tank top, and that perfect yellow leather jacket, and get away with it?" 

Lucie laughed, "He was at this school first…technically, you walked into HIS house."

"This is no time to correct my dramatic rantings, Lucie…this is some serious shit," Courf deadpanned.

"Talk to him," Lucie suggested.

"Are you insane?" Courfeyrac asked shocked.

"I'd like to think I'm not insane," Lucie replied, "He loves you just as much as you love him, you know?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Lu," Courf scoffed.

"I'm not being ridiculous…I've seen the way he looks at you when you aren't looking. It's the same way that Bossuet, Joly, and Chetta look at each other, or Feuilly and Bahorel look at each other."

Courfeyrac couldn't be convinced, so Lucie decided to work on Combeferre instead.

"What?" Ferre asked at the suggestion that he should talk to Courf, "No way, Lucie!"

"Oh, come on, Combeferre," she protested. She thought for a minute, "What would Freddie do?"

Combeferre left her side and walked directly to Courfeyrac.

"You know what, Courfeyrac? I have been wondering what to do about you all night," Combeferre started, "Then I got to thinking, 'what would Freddie Mercury do?'" He looked over at Lucie, who nodded in encouragement, "So here I am, and this is what I'm going to do," he grabbed Courfeyrac by the shoulders and brought their lips together almost forcefully.

It took Courfeyrac all of three seconds to process this and kiss Combeferre back.

"I'm sorry, I—," Combeferre started before being interrupted by Courfeyrac.

"Oh, shut up," Courf said kissing Ferre again.

Lucie whistled at Courfeyrac from across the room. Courfeyrac was too preoccupied to say anything, so he responded by extending his middle finger in her general direction.

Lucie laughed as Enjolras appeared at her side.

"What was that?" Enj asked her.

"Enjolras, that was me being amazing," she replied, "I did that."

"Good thing, it's about time those two got together," he grinned.

"Nice costume, by the way," Lucie said, "You really nailed the vampire hunter thing."

They talked for the rest of the dance. As the night went on, they were joined by the rest of their friends. For once, Lucie wasn't thinking about Montparnasse. She was thinking about something much happier: her friends and how lucky she was to have them.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Here comes the shady chapter, again I am sorry.**

 **Chapter 10:**

"Are you sure you don't want to wait for me to get out of class, Lucie?" Combeferre asked her as she gathered her laundry.

"I'll be fine, Combeferre. Your class is two hours long, and I think I can handle walking down two flights of stairs without an escort," Lucie replied.

"Alright, just be careful," Combeferre said as he left for class.

Lucie made sure she had her room key in her pocket, and then made her way downstairs to the laundry room. The room was empty when she got there. She hummed quietly to herself as she started loading her laundry into a washing machine. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, it was a text from Grantaire.

' _What are you doing right now? I'm bored.'_

Lucie smiled as she typed her response.

' _Laundry…I'll be done in five minutes, meet me at my room?'_

She got a thumbs up emoji in response.

Lucie finished loading the washing machine and started the cycle.

Her phone buzzed again, _'Hurry and entertain me Lu!'_

' _OMG R Calm down! I'm coming,'_ she replied.

' _I'm dying of boredom!'_

' _You're NOT dying'_

He sent a picture of himself lying on the floor in front of Lucie's room captioned: _'Here lies Grantaire. Died of boredom because Lucie took her sweet ass time doing laundry'_.

' _Stop being such a drama queen,'_ Lucie typed back.

Lucie was still looking down at her phone as she walked towards the door. She stopped in her tracks when she noticed someone in her way. She looked up ready to apologize for almost walking into them, but stopped once she realized it was Montparnasse.

He smirked, "You should really watch where you're going, babe."

Lucie backed up glancing down at her phone as it buzzed, _Is everything OK? What's taking so long?_ "Just leave me alone, Parnasse—," she said getting ready to type a response.

"I do wish you'd stop calling me that, seeing as it isn't my name," he remarked, "It's Babet."

Lucie furrowed her eyebrows, "But…you…"

"I know what I told you; I lied. I got into some trouble at my old high school so when I transferred I gave them my friend, Montparnasse's name. He lived across the country at the time so no one thought anything of it. I couldn't tell you and have your big mouth blow my cover," Babet explained.

"Why are you telling me this now, then?" Lucie asked.

"Well," Babet said, "Montparnasse is transferring here next semester, and I wanted you to find out from me. As a matter of fact I think he's in the same program as that fairy, Prouvaire."

"Fine, you told me. Now leave me alone…Babet," the name still felt strange.

"Is that any way to talk to your boyfriend?" He asked, almost as if he were taunting her.

Lucie ignored him and tried to walk around him to get out of the room. Babet stepped in front of her. She tried to push him away, "Just let me leave."

Babet pushed her back into a wall and pulled out his pocket knife, pressing it to her throat. Lucie stood frozen with fear. He forced his lips onto hers as she struggled. Once he pulled his face away from hers, he kept the knife on her neck, "Now be a good girl and tell me you love me."

"Go to hell," she spat out at him.

"Is that your final answer?" he asked as he pressed the blade against her throat a little harder.

"Lucie," Grantaire called from down the hall, "Is everything OK, you never replied to my text?" He walked into the room to find Babet with a knife on one of his best friends.

Grantaire walked over to Babet and pulled him off of Lucie, angrily. He tried to throw a punch, but Babet jabbed the knife into his side before he could.

"NO!" Lucie shouted.

Babet pulled the knife out of Grantaire's side, and left the room, "Maybe next time you'll think twice about your feelings for me, Lu."

Grantaire fell to the floor clutching his side; he lied down on his back to keep from hitting his head on the floor. His breathing was becoming somewhat labored.

Lucie rushed over and kneeled at his side. His eyes were already beginning to flutter, "No, no, no, stay with me, Grantaire," she said grasping his hand, "I'm calling 9-1-1."

Lucie dialed 9-1-1, and quickly gave the address of the college and explained the situation. The operator said the ambulance would be there soon. Lucie hung up.

"Don't leave, Lucie," Grantaire breathed as he winced in pain.

"I won't, I promise. Just stay awake for me, OK?"

Grantaire nodded weakly.

"I'm calling Combeferre; he'll know what to do until the ambulance gets here."

Lucie dialed Ferre's number.

Combeferre felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and looked at the caller ID. It was Lucie. She wouldn't call him in class unless it was an emergency. He got up and excused himself to answer the phone, "Lucie, what's wrong? Are you OK?"

Lucie's voice shook as she answered, "It's Grantaire…Montparnasse, whose name isn't even Montparnasse, stabbed him. He's—he's losing a lot of blood. I called an ambulance but—but I can't—," Lucie stuttered at the end as tears began to form in her eyes.

Ferre interrupted her, "I'm coming and I'm bringing Joly. I'll be there in less than five minutes."

"OK," Lucie said before Ferre hung up.

Combeferre and Joly were there in a matter of minutes trying to slow the bleeding. They were followed in by Musichetta and Bossuet. Feuilly Jehan and Bahorel arrived next, with Marius and Courfeyrac on their heels. Enjolras was the last to arrive before the ambulance got there.

"Who's riding in the ambulance with him?" the paramedic asked.

"I am," Lucie replied quickly, never letting go of Grantaire's hand.

"I'll stay and fill out the paperwork here," Marius said, "I hate hospitals."

Lucie nodded, "OK, Marius."

They arrived at the hospital what seemed like an eternity later. The rest of Les Amis, minus Marius, followed the ambulance in two cars driven by Combeferre and Feuilly.

The doctors wouldn't tell them anything once for a hell of a long time. So they did all they could do…they waited.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

Combeferre sat next to Lucie, with Courfeyrac on his other side, clutching his hand. "What did you mean on the phone, Lucie?" he asked her.

"Hmm?" she asked jerking her head up out of whatever trance she was in.

"You said over the phone that his name isn't Montparnasse," Ferre said, "What did you mean?"

"He lied to me and everyone else about his name…it's really Babet. A friend of his is named Montparnasse…he gave that as his name when he transferred to my high school sophomore year because he got in a lot of trouble at his old school," Lucie explained.

"And he never told you?" Courfeyrac asked.

Lucie shook her head and sighed, "Apparently I would've blown his cover with my big mouth. Can we please change the subject? Because I really don't want to talk about what happened."

"Of course, Lucie," Ferre responded.

There was silence again. Musichetta went to find the chapel to pray, and was followed by her boyfriends. Feuilly and Bahorel were whispering amongst themselves. Enjolras was the only one who hadn't said anything. Lucie glanced over at him; he looked pale, almost like he would break down into tears at any minute. Lucie stared at the floor in front of her for what felt like hours.

 _This is my fault. This is my fault._ The words kept repeating themselves in Lucie's head. She felt tears rising in her eyes. She took a few deep breaths. She couldn't take it anymore and got up and walked out of the room. She stood outside the door and closed her eyes.

It was Jehan who followed her out after a few minutes.

"Lucie," he said, "do you want to talk about it?"

"I didn't know his name, Jehan," she said barely above a whisper.

"I know," he replied.

"You don't understand, Jehan…I—I lost my virginity to him and I didn't even know his name," she cried.

Jehan nodded, "I know how hard this must be for you, Lucie, but he can't hurt you anymore."

"He had a knife to my throat," she said, "when Grantaire came into the room…he had a knife to my throat, and he used it to stab R."

Jehan met Lucie's eyes, "I know what you're thinking, Lu, but—."

"It's my fault," Lucie said, "that's what I'm thinking. Don't try to tell me it wasn't."

"But, Lu…It wasn't…it wasn't your fault that he decided to do that to you and then Taire."

"As much as I try to tell myself that, I can't seem to believe it."

Jehan put his hand on Lucie's shoulder, "Then you're going to have to try a little harder. I'm going to get flowers for R, would you like to join me?"

Lucie nodded, "Yeah, he likes flowers…well he likes painting them anyway."

Jehan smiled, "Who doesn't like flowers?"

"Flower-haters, probably," Lucie joked.

They walked down to the gift shop to pick out flowers, and then went back up to the waiting room, both with far too many flowers in their arms ("Nonsense, you can never have too many flowers, Lucie,"-Jehan).

"Do you think you guys have enough flowers?" Bahorel asked as they walked into the room.

"No," Jehan said, "but this was all they had."

Lucie put the flowers onto the table and reclaimed her seat next to Combeferre.

Combeferre nudged her, "You ok?" he mouthed.

Lucie nodded, "Yeah," she mouthed back.

They sat there in silence until Grantaire's doctor appeared in the doorway.

"Are you all here for," He looked down at his clipboard, "Grantaire?"

"Yes," a few of them said simultaneously.

"How is he?" Combeferre asked.

"Well, he's alive" the doctor took a deep breath, "but he's not doing well. You see, he lost a lot of blood, and as far as blood types go his is a little rare, well not really, but we don't have any readily available, and we're low on O positive as well. We had a patient this morning that needed a lot of his type…we were supposed to get more tomorrow, but I don't know if he can wait that long."

"Take mine," Lucie said, quietly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," the doctor said.

"Take mine," she said louder, "take my blood."

"How do you know you have the same type?" the doctor asked.

"I'm O positive; that means I can donate to anyone right?"

"Well, yes but unless more than one of you is O positive it won't work. He needs more blood than one person can donate."

"What blood type is he?" Enjolras asked. It was the first thing he'd said for the entire time they'd been there.

"He's B positive," the doctor replied.

"Take mine, too, then. I'm B positive," Enjolras said.

The doctor nodded, "Very well, the two of you can follow me."

Lucie and Enjolras followed the doctor.

"Thank you, Enjolras," Lucie whispered.

"Don't thank me, any decent person would do the same thing for their friend," Enjolras replied.

"Grantaire thinks you don't care about him, you know?" Lucie said, "He feels like you hate him sometimes…like you think he doesn't believe in anything, that he's useless."

"Of course I don't hate him or think he's useless. I do think he doesn't believe in anything, though," Enj said, "But he should know I care for him. He's my friend…I—I hope he really doesn't think that I hate him…" he almost blushed.

"He does believe in a lot of things, well…at least one thing," Lucie said.

"Oh yeah, and what's that?" Enjolras asked.

"He believes in _you_ , Enjolras."

"He believes in me?" Enj asked, "Grantaire?"

"Yes, he really does…" Lucie said. She knew that Grantaire was just as hopelessly in love with Enjolras as she was, but she didn't mind, she wouldn't even mind if Enj loved him back. She just wanted them happy.

"Oh…" Enj sighed, "I—I didn't know." He almost started to cry.

"Enj…it's ok," Lucie said, "You'll be able to tell him you're sorry."

"You don't know that, what if this doesn't work?"

"You're right…I don't know…but we have to hope for the best or else we have nothing."

"I couldn't live with myself if—if he died thinking that I hated him, if he didn't know that I—," Enj stammered

"I know, but he won't so you don't have to worry about it," Lucie said placing a hand on Enj's shoulder.

Enjolras nodded, blinking away the few tears that had formed in his eyes.

After they'd gotten their blood drawn the doctor let them go back into the waiting room, "Grantaire is lucky to have friends like you two…you probably saved his life. Once he has this he'll be fine."

Enjolras and Lucie both sighed with relief almost simultaneously.

Once they were finally able to see Grantaire, Lucie was the first in the room, followed by Enjolras.

"Grantaire," she almost cried, "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault—,"

"Lucie, this is not your fault, and I won't listen to any arguments against that," Grantaire replied.

"Hey, R," Enjolras said, "can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, Apollo," Grantaire said.

"I'll leave you two alone," Lucie smiled and walked out of the room.

They talked for a few minutes. There were apologies, and maybe even tears. The others went in after that. Bahorel high-fived him for being a badass, and made R show him the cut on his side. Jehan brought in all the flowers, assisted by Lucie. Musichetta Joly and Bossuet baked him cookies and brought them back for him. Courfeyrac asked what it felt like to be stabbed, and received a glare from Combeferre, who made Grantaire promise to let him help with the cleaning once he got back to school.

Once visiting hours were over, they said goodbye, and the doctor told them that Grantaire could go back to campus tomorrow. They drove back and got something to eat at the dining hall. Afterwards, Combeferre and Courfeyrac went to watch a movie with Marius in their room. Lucie decided to go back to her dorm and go to sleep.

Enjolras walked Lucie back to her dorm, just in case Babet was waiting.

"Do you want me to come in and keep you company until Ferre gets back?" He asked when they arrived at her door.

"No, I'm alright, I'm just going to go to sleep…it's been a long day," Lucie replied.

"Alright then, goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow," he smiled.

"Hey, is everything OK with you and R now?" she asked.

"Yeah," he grinned, "we talked about a few things…I explained that I didn't hate him or think he was useless. We're good now."

"That's great," Lucie said, "See you tomorrow."

Lucie unlocked her door and walked into her room. She glanced down at the floor and saw an envelope with her name on it. She picked it up and opened it.

' _Jean Prouvaire_

 _Enjolras_

 _Marius_

 _Combeferre_

 _Musichetta_

 _Next time it'll be one of them. Make the right choice._

 _-Babet'_

Lucie read the letter again and again. Her hands were shaking. She went to bed telling her self that she would think about a solution, but in truth she'd already made her decision. She couldn't let Babet hurt another one of her friends…she had to just play along next time, and the time after that, and forever.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

When Lucie woke up, Combeferre still wasn't back. She reread the letter, and confirmed her decision with herself. She flipped it over and found Babet's phone number.

She dialed the number. When Babet answered all Lucie said was, "You win."

"I thought so," he replied smugly.

"Under a few conditions," Lucie said.

"Are you in any position to be making demands?" he asked.

"They aren't much," she replied, "All I ask is that I get to continue seeing my friends, and that they remain unharmed. Oh, and you have to apologize to Grantaire for nearly killing him."

"Fine," he sighed, "that sounds doable."

"Alright then, I'm going to hang up now."

"OK, see you later."

After they hung up, Lucie ripped up the letter into as many pieces as she could and threw it in the garbage. She sat on the floor and tried not to cry. Thankfully, Grantaire called her a few minutes later, "Hey, Lu!"

"Grantaire," she smiled at hearing his voice, "what's up?"

"Can you pick me up?" he asked, "They're discharging me as we speak."

"Of course, I'll be right there," she said.

Lucie ran to Marius and Courf's room and knocked on the door, "Ferre!"

Combeferre opened the door, "What is it, Lu?"

"I need your car keys," she said.

"Why? Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, Grantaire wants me to pick him up from the hospital."

"Alright," Ferre said handing Lucie his keys, "be careful with my car."

"Maybe," she smirked as she took off down the hallway.

"Lucie!" he shouted after her, "I'm serious! Don't crash my car! Lucie!" It was useless she couldn't hear him anymore.

She ran out to the parking lot and got into Ferre's car, starting the engine. As she drove to the hospital, she tried to come up with the perfect excuse as to why she was back with Babet. As she pulled up to the door and saw Grantaire, the final detail fell into place.

Grantaire opened the car door and got in the passenger's seat.

"Hey!" Lucie said, "How's my favorite stabbing victim?"

"I'm surprisingly good considering the stitches in my side," he laughed, "but I could seriously use a drink."

"He called me last night," Lucie said.

"Did you tell him exactly where he could go?" Grantaire scoffed.

"I was going to…"

"But?"

"He was crying his eyes out," Lucie lied, "He told me how sorry he was for everything he's ever done to me, and that he knew it was all wrong, but he was so afraid of losing me that he didn't know what to do. He told me how horrible he felt for what he did to you, and begged me to take him back."

"And did you?" Grantaire asked, slightly horrified.

Lucie simply nodded, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her.

"What the hell, Lucie? Why would you even think about taking him back after all he's done to you?" he shouted.

"I wasn't going to Taire, but he seemed so sincere on the phone. I'm just giving him one more chance, that's all, and the second he hits me or threatens me, it's over I swear," she said, "I just need to be sure that he hasn't changed before I completely write him off."

Grantaire was trying his best not to be angry at Lucie, "Does your brother know about this?"

"Not yet, but I plan on telling him and the others at some point today."

"Are you sure about this, Lucie?" he asked.

"Yes, and I know you and the others will all worry about me regardless of what I say, but I promise I won't stay with him if he hurts me again."

It was a lie, Lucie knew that, but Grantaire didn't and that was what mattered. Lucie was going to endure anything to protect her friends and her brother.

When Lucie told the others, later that day, Enjolras walked out of the room. Lucie followed him.

"Enjolras, please just heat me out," she begged.

"Why should I?" he asked, "This guy made your life hell, Lucie. He put Grantaire in the hospital, for god's sake!"

"I know, but Enjolras…I've always thought that even the worst people were capable of changing for the better," Lucie said, "And if he hasn't I'll break up with him quicker than you can imagine, I promise."

Enjolras didn't reply.

"Enj, please…just trust me. I'm not asking you to trust him…just trust _me_."

Enjolras took a deep breath, "Alright, Lucie…I'll trust you on this, but if he so much as thinks of laying a hand on you, I'll kill him."

"I don't doubt that in the slightest, Enjolras," Lucie smiled.

Enjolras stepped forward and hugged Lucie, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Lu," He said, "I just want you to be safe."

"I know," Lucie said, "It's alright, Enj."

A couple of weeks passed, and Lucie was nothing other than miserable having to be affectionate towards Babet, but at least her friends were safe. Babet had agreed to take it slow, as if it were a new relationship, after some clever campaigning on Lucie's part. They kissed quite often, but it was a price Lucie was willing to pay for the safety of her brother and their friends. He hadn't actually hit her yet, but Lucie had been very careful so far.

One day, after class, Grantaire spotted Lucie in front of one of the buildings.

"Lu!" He called, "wait up!"

"Hey, R," Lucie greeted him as he approached, "What's up?"

"Come with me, I want to show you something," he said.

"I shouldn't…" she said nervously, "Babet…he's expecting me to be back in my room in a few minutes."

"Come on, I promise you'll absolutely love it," Grantaire said trying to convince her.

"I don't know…" Lucie thought for a moment.

"It won't take long, you'll be back soon enough," Grantaire told her.

"Oh…what the hell," Lucie smiled, "Let's go!"

"Excellent! Come on!" Grantaire said grabbing her hand and pulling her away.

"Where are we going, anyway?" she laughed.

"Oh, that's a surprise, but trust me, you're going to love it," R smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

"R, where are we going?" Lucie asked as Grantaire pulled her along.

"I told you it's a surprise! Stop asking!" R laughed, "I swear you're as stubborn as Enjolras."

"No one is as stubborn as Enjolras!" Lucie rolled her eyes and followed him up a little path that led into the woods behind campus.

Once they were in the woods, Grantaire led her to a little patch of grass in front of two trees, "Sit down."

Lucie raised an eyebrow, "On the ground?"

"I brought a blanket don't worry," Grantaire said, as he laid the blanket on the grass.

Lucie sat on the blanket and looked around, smiling when she saw little patches of flowers on the grass. "So…is there a reason we're out here? Planning on killing me and leaving my body in the woods?" she teased.

"The view, look between those two trees in about ten minutes, you'll see," R grinned, sitting next to her.

"How did you manage to find this place?" Lucie asked him.

"I spent a lot of time alone before I met the guys," R sighed, "A lot of it was walking out here, and I even found the perfect spot to hide things." He smiled standing up and walking over to a hollowed tree stump. He reached inside and took out a bottle of his favorite wine.

"You truly know the way to a girl's heart," Lucie teased, laughing lightly.

Grantaire handed her the bottle and bowed, "M'lady."

Lucie laughed so hard that she snorted and then covered her mouth, "You did _not_ hear that!" she squeaked.

"Oh I heard it, and I'm so telling the others," R smirked.

"Speak of it ever again and I'll castrate you," Lucie glared at him.

"Message received," R nodded, slightly frightened.

Lucie smirked and took a drink from the bottle.

"It's time! Look!" Grantaire smiled brightly.

Lucie turned her head and looked between the trees. The sun was just beginning to set, and Grantaire was right…it was the loveliest view in the world. She gasped softly, "Oh my god…"

"Told you so," Grantaire whispered.

"You were right," Lucie smiled.

While Lucie was distracted, R discreetly snapped a picture of her for a painting assignment.

"I should go…Babet is waiting," Lucie said softly, yet stayed completely still.

"You don't want to though," Grantaire said, "I can tell."

"Not yet," Lucie nodded, "Besides, I can stay a bit longer," she took a long drink from the bottle and handed it over to R.

Grantaire shifted closer to Lucie, "You know what I meant. You don't want to be with him, do you?"

Lucie's eyes started tearing, but she fought them back, "I have to."

"No you don't, we won't let him hurt you," Grantaire said, "We'll stop him from ever touching you again. I promise, Lucie, we'll protect you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," Lucie said quietly.

"What do you mean?" Grantaire cocked his head to the side.

"He gave me a list…Jehan, Enjolras, Marius, Combeferre, and Musichetta," Lucie admitted quietly, "He's going to hurt one of them the next time…the next time I disappoint him."

"That bastard!" R whispered, "We won't let him, we'll stop him—hell I'll stop him."

"No! You can't tell anyone about this! Promise me you won't! Please R!" Lucie begged desperately.

"Okay," R nodded taking her hands, "I won't tell them, but if he hurts you, I'll kill him myself."

Lucie thought she'd stop breathing when R took her hands, "R…"

Before he could think to stop himself, Grantaire leaned forward and pressed his lips to Lucie's.

Despite the millions of thoughts rushing through Lucie's head, she did not hesitate to kiss back. She sighed softly, shifting closer to him.

Grantaire pulled her in by the hips and tangled a hand in her hair as they kissed, "We shouldn't be doing this…you're still with him…" he mumbled against her lips.

"I don't care," Lucie breathed, "I hate him. I want _you_."

"You want Enjolras," Grantaire said, kissing her neck softly.

"S-So do you," Lucie's breath hitched, "Why can't we want each other too?"

"You make an excellent point," Grantaire breathed, "Because I've wanted to do this ever since I met you."

"So have I," Lucie realized, "I was so focused on Enj and everything else that I didn't realize…you make me so happy…I wish I'd known sooner."

"Ssssh…it's okay…I didn't realize either…" Grantaire assured her.

"Don't stop," Lucie said, "Not yet."

"I won't, I promise," Taire whispered, kissing her again.

They pulled apart to breathe after a few minutes, resting their foreheads together.

"We can't tell anyone about this…about us," Grantaire whispered as he brought their lips together again.

"I know," Lucie agreed between kisses, "Our secret."

Grantaire stopped and kissed her forehead, stroking her hair gently, "Come on, it's almost dark, we need to get back."

Lucie nodded and leaned against him, "Just another minute like this?"

"Of course," R whispered. He kissed into her hair, holding her close.

After a few moments Lucie nodded, "Okay, I'm ready…"

"Okay, I'll walk you back," R told her.

"He'll be waiting for me…I'm really late," Lucie frowned.

"If he hurts you, you scream as loud as you can," R whispered softly, "One of us will be there in seconds."

"Promise?" Lucie looked up at him, almost looking like an innocent child.

"I swear," Grantaire nodded, "I won't ever let him hurt you again."

Lucie was silent as Grantaire walked her back to her room, upset that she had to drop his hand once they were back on campus.

"There you are, Lucie," Babet grinned as she and Grantaire arrived at her door, "You're so late I was starting to worry."

"Sorry, Grantaire and I went to get coffee after class," Lucie lied, "We lost track of time."

"So you were on a date?" Babet asked as Lucie saw the anger rising in him.

"No, we both wanted coffee and it seemed foolish not to go together, considering we're friends," Lucie sighed.

"Why didn't you ask me, your boyfriend, to come then?" Babet crossed his arms.

"Because you hate coffee, Babet," Lucie balled her hands into fists.

"Temper temper, little Lucie," Babet scolded, "How about we go inside and discuss this calmly?"

"Fine," Lucie muttered. She stepped around him to unlock her door, "I'll see you in class, R." She walked into the room, Babet followed, and the door closed behind them.


End file.
